Acceleration of convective dissolution by an instantaneous chemical reaction: A comparison of experimental and numerical results

The effect of an instantaneous chemical reaction on convective dissolution in a Hele-Shaw cell is analyzed experimentally and numerically. We experimentally show that the non-dimensional onset time and growth rate of instability is determined only by the reactant concentration-ratio. Also, nonlinear numerical simulations are conducted to obtain the temporal evolution of the dissolution flux. The experimental and numerical results reveal a sharp increase of up to 300% in the dissolution flux, accompanied by a decrease in the convection onset time, when the reactant concentration-ratio approaches the stoichiometric value. These results have important implications for the optimization of carbon-dioxide storage in porous saline aquifers in the Earth's subsurface.